June 28, 2023
HELP! The theme for this week is help. I need help. Not a lot, but I need it a lot. Magdalene’s Mission is the most effective, efficient, and genuine way to run a non-profit that combats homelessness and its causes that we can run. The last two and a half years of outreach have produced tremendous results in people’s lives and communities. We are difference makers. We make all the difference in the world every Tuesday night we can make it out.
That’s why days like yesterday break my heart. I just couldn’t get it done. I had all the heart and drive, but none of the physical capability to make 40 hygiene bags from scratch as well as 50-75 sandwiches and pack them into bags. Traci takes on the clothes by herself. They don’t come to us neatly sorted or organized. They come in knotted up trash bags.
From the trash bags we must, or Traci must, go through each item individually. Homeless people live mostly outside. They can only take clothes that are practical to wear. I am so touched by the beautiful silk office dresses and stylish pumps. But no one can wear that. If you wouldn’t take it with you camping, my homeless friends can’t use it. They need socks. Lot of socks. They wear jeans, leggings, sweatpants, t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, and hoodies. Clean unders and a sports bra are extra special. They need backpacks and duffel bags to hide the clothes in. Clean clothes can change a person’s perspective on themselves. It inspires self-preservation.
The huge yard sale this week will get the clothes that I can’t use out of the way so that I can find the stuff we need. I have my garage full, Dan’s garage full, a storage unit full, Bonnie’s storage unit full, and usually half of my living room full of clothes. Most of them are too large, the wrong season, or impractical for my friends. But we go through all of it because we can often find the good stuff mixed in.
No one lives with electricity in their tent or forts. Flashlights are a prize. Women and men are violently assaulted often because of their vulnerable position in society. Pepper spray saves many lives. Blankets are useful. Notebooks and pens come in handy. Writing is a key to sanity and mental clarity.
Right now, it is by the Godsent grace of Mary Anderson and her husband that we have enough hygiene products to take out every week. She drops off a load of wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, washcloths, bagged candy, ear swabs, etc. every 4-6 weeks. The rest of it comes in large bags of assorted items that need to be sorted and put away in whatever makeshift area I can. I need my youth group to throw down and pack up a couple hundred hygiene kits in an hour or so, like we did before.
If you know me then you know I am a proud independent person. I am an only child and the eldest grandchild. I am self-sufficient and in charge. Traci and I have been getting that van packed up with love for over two years now. Everyone reading this has contributed in some way that made all the difference for people at some point. But it’s time to be humble. Jesus talked a lot about keeping one’s ego in check.
Deep breath…
Will some people please help me? I couldn’t go out last night because I couldn’t get everything done in time. I’m working 40 hours a week now. I never did get a chance to write up all those grants. Through Jesus, Magdalene’s Mission has healed me to the point where I can work again. Hallelujah. I only have Tuesday and Wednesday off. In theory, I should be able to put in an hour a day and be ready. For some reason I am just exhausted. I can’t seem to feel rested no matter how much I sleep. This is a problem. I want to do stuff and my body won’t do what I tell it to. My arms are torn up. My right shoulder has rotator cuff issues. My left elbow and forearm have tendon issues.
But I refuse to sink. I refuse to quit or give up. Traci and I are committed to this. To love one another without prejudice is a commandment from Jesus.
Matthew 25:36 (36 )I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
The streets and addiction can be prisons, too.
I’ll supply the products, hygiene, or food. I just need help packing.
I’m trying to get to church, but I work 2pm-10pm Saturday and Sunday. I usually make it up there on Monday morning instead.
Cecelia & Caity Stema play a huge role behind the scenes. They have been helping me keep donations organized in the garage and making deliveries to the storage unit in Pinckney for me. They stop by every couple of months and make a world of difference.
I have some help. I just need a little more, and we can be amazing. Here is what I need-
- Sandwich makers. Dan volunteered to help me out. Dan is a rock star like that. I’ll provide peanut butter bread and jelly. Pick a week, any one week, anytime. I need 50 sandwiches to pack into 50 lunch bags. Drop them off by noon on Tuesday and I’m golden.
- Hygiene kits. Again, I can supply the products and the bags. It’s a perfect group activity. It can be your small group, youth group, friends & family group, pineapple appreciation group, I don’t care. More hands make less work. Just pack them into a plastic freezer bag (that I can supply) and I can do the rest.
- Clothes. I need more mindful donations. Magdalene’s Mission is a genuinely honorable non-profit organization to contribute to. I never want to deter people from donating. But I do need to be efficient to be effective. If we are only sorting what we need, then I can keep a large supply in my garage, overflow in Dan’s garage, and I don’t have to spend $100 a month for a storage unit. That’s 10 cans of pepper spray. That’s two weeks’ worth of meals I could be passing out. That’s 10 packages of socks. That’s how I think. That’s why this mission rocks.
I need to be able to get up on Tuesday morning, load up hygiene kits into purses and backpacks, put prepacked bins of clothes into the van, load up the food, load up the extras, put a notebook and pen someplace handy, and then me Traci and possibly another volunteer be on the road by 4:30 pm.
For now, I’m selling everything I can’t use this weekend. Stan won’t be going out during July. I have one month to prepare and put time into those grants.
I’m so close to our dream. We’re going to have a base in Detroit. Mitchell’s Crib will be a haven of resources and community support. I want a Detroit version of the Hull House in Chicago that was conceived by Jane Addams. We have the combined talents of so many people making this mission possible. I have just a couple more holes to fill before I can take the vision there. We met unlimited potential and unutilized talent lingering on the streets of Detroit. They have a place to become everything they can be at Mitchell’s Crib. I know a plethora of retired people, part-time workers, people with skill sets that they don’t always get to use in pro humanity ways. They too are all waiting for this next level to begin. Can you see it?
Can you see the cooking classes, the gardens of food, and the tables for people to eat at? Can you see The Girl Who Always Reads volunteering as a medical assistant and teaching literacy classes? Can’t you see my Angel helping people to deal with their legal backgrounds, and as a councilor who can help people get their identities on track so that can rejoin society? My Widow is so wise. Her boyfriend can fix or build anything. It’s all waiting to explode in a burst of human success. A thriving community ready to be healthy. Everyone is ready for the job. They just need a direction. A focus. A couple more rungs on the ladder. Can you see it, too?
You can see the difference we’ve already made. The Hobbits have their own place now and if you would like to donate any household items including furniture, I’ll take it to them. Mr. Hobbit can’t wait to tell me their story. I can hardly wait to publish it and tell it to you.
And then, we can have a little more time to focus on the bright future ahead for the next person, who will create a better neighborhood, that builds a stronger community, which will create a thriving city, to prosper our beautiful state, that is a special part of our wonderous country upon this awesome planet.
Because that’s how we do it in Detroit.
Amen.
